These days I’m deep in everything poop-and-pee related. I have a toddler who's just begun toilet training. (To those of you who have successfully completed this process—congratulations, I’m jealous. To those of you who have yet to take the plunge or are struggling with it yourselves, my sympathies.) Where to begin? In addition to the typical paraphernalia like potty chairs and training diapers, I picked up some picture books to help get my little one excited about the whole process.

A friend gave us a Berenstain Baby Bears board book (My Potty and I) that she used when her kids were little. Some of the concepts in it may be too advanced for my daughter’s age, but who doesn’t love a cute little bear in diapers? And I bought A Potty for Me! by Karen Katz. I’m a fan of Katz’s bright, cheery illustrations (Toes, Ears & Nose! and Counting Kisses are a hit in our house) and this book had the kind of reassuring, positive language I was looking for. For example, the little girl on the pages has several false starts and when she accidentally wets her pants, the mother says, “That’s okay.” (Something I say an awful lot as a mom.)

I also got Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi, a book published in Japan in 1977 but

popular and still in print today. I got Everyone Poops because it got good feedback from other parents and deals frankly with the fact that, well, everyone poops. There are pictures of various animals (elephant, hippo, bunny and more) and a man, older boy, younger boy and baby pooping. (Though I wish the man wasn’t smoking a pipe!) Some parents may find it distasteful but my thinking is that it’s a natural fact of life. Back when it was published I think it was unusual to see illustrations of poop in a children’s book. There are some similar books out now (like Where’s the Poop?) but they’re still not the norm.

I don’t remember reading books about the potty when I was a kid. Not sure if they had them then or maybe I just blocked the whole thing out of my memory. But experts recommend reading fun, reassuring books on the subject and I can see how it helps. Several months ago (before we actually started toilet training), I added these books to my daughter’s collection of bedtime books and she ended up often requesting them, especially the Karen Katz book and Everyone Poops. Now that we’ve started toilet training in earnest, she’s asking for the books even more. I think she loves the language in the former and she’s fascinated by the idea of poop in the latter.

Since we’re just beginning, I’m not sure if I’ll be one of the lucky parents whose child is trained in a matter of weeks or a need-to-be-patient parent whose kid clings to the old ways. But just in case it’s the latter—I’d love recommendations of books you used to help your child embrace toilet training (including ones that may be especially helpful for little boys). What did you and your child like about them?

And in the meantime, wish me luck!